Preserving Your Depot

Approximately one-third of the more than 500 stations served by Amtrak are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as contributing structures to historic districts. Many of these same stations are also listed on state and local historic registers.

Historic designation can be a powerful tool for a community contemplating the renovation or adaptive reuse of a station. Historic designation—and whether it takes place at the federal, state or local level—determines:

Eligibility for tax benefits

The ability to delay or stop demolition orders

The type of renovation or restoration work allowed

Properties placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) enjoy many advantages, such as:

Increased public awareness and recognition

Access to International Building Code fire and life safety code alternatives

Acknowledgement of the listing with a bronze plaque designating it as part of the National Register of Historic Places

Station owners can use the NRHP affiliation to create new opportunities to network and learn from other listed properties on the care and maintenance of their historic structures.

The National Register is purely honorific and in no way restricts a property owner’s use of the property; station owners have the right to refuse listing. Local designation is generally accompanied by more stringent legal tools that can be used to delay demolition.

Philadelphia 30th Street Station is historically designated at national, state and local levels. The Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial sculpture is also a city historic landmark.

Tax Benefits

Station owners that are not tax-exempt are also able to take advantage of generous tax credits and funding opportunities. Tax-exempt entities can become involved in rehabilitation projects eligible for historic preservation tax credits by forming a limited partnership and maintaining a minority ownership interest as a general partner. Although the tax-exempt entity would not be entitled to any tax credits, the partnership allows it to see that larger organizational and community planning goals are met.

It is important to note that in order to claim federal historic preservation tax credits, the owner must ensure that the rehabilitated station includes income-producing commercial or industrial uses. Many states also offer historic preservation tax credits.

If a station owner chooses to take advantage of federal historic preservation tax credits, then work must be in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, which may affect the massing and scale of additions as well as the range of materials and construction methods used for rehabilitation or new construction. Using federal funds also requires a Section 106 Review that may add time to the overall project and subject it to more rigorous design oversight.

Three stations are also considered National Historic Landmarks, which according to the National Park Service, “…are nationally significant historic places…[that] possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.” These stations, which are all individually listed on the National Register, include:

Stay Connected

Sign up for our newsletter to get all the latest opportunities for you to get involved with your local station project.

Email Address*

Prefer to be social? No problem.
There are lots of ways to connect with Amtrak online:

Amtrak established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources.

Amtrak is America’s Railroad®, the nation’s intercity passenger rail service and its high-speed rail operator. More than 31.7 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in FY 2017 on more than 300 daily trains that connect 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian Provinces. Choose the smarter way to travel at Amtrak.com or call 800-USA-RAIL for schedules, fares and more information.